Locomotive boiler



March 27, 192s. 1,663,585

M. M. CROWLEY LOCOMOTIVE BOILER Filed March 4. 1927 gwuemtoz PatentedMar.y 27, 192s.

APATENT OFFICE.

MicHAnr. ivi. CROWLEY, or sIoUXjoITY, Iowa.

LOCOMOTIVE BOILER.

Application filed March 4, 1927. Serial No. 172,640.

My invention relates to locomotive boil ers and has for its objectprimarily the increase of vwater circulation Ain the heated' zone toproduce quicker and more eflicient steaming facility.

rIhe above object is attained by anew lire,- box construction wherein amuch greater surface of water carryingchambers is presented to ,thellames and heated gasesl of lll combustion than in anyk existing type oflocomotive irebox. The area of brick arch, an inert body, incapable oftransmitting heat into power, is reduced to a minimum withoutsacrificing the necessary accessibilV ity of the boiler flue sheet tothe workman.

A further object of my invention is to provide such a fireboxconstruction having the water circulatory quality mentioned, in whichthe possibility of crystallization of the metal walls of the lirebox isminimized.

A still further object of myl invention is to obtain a separated draftwithin the firebox such that there is lesspossibility of the aircurrents concentrating, such as may hap pen in the ordinary fireboxwhere a burnedthrough spot appears in the coal bed of the lire. V

Another object of the invention is to provide firebox construction ofvery sturdy character, suolir as to resist the combined :forces of steampressure and vibration, as well as the force of coal thrown against itswalls during the firing process.

A yfurther object `of the invention is to constructthe lirebox so as togive the greatesty accessibility to the iue sheet with a minimum area ofremovable brick arch.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in theconstruction, ar-A rangement and combination of the variousv andillustrated in. the accompanyil'ig drawsection al view will y occur.

l secure'circulation of water through the irebox proper, as well asaround it. i

However, this involves further problems. The boxes must be so arrangedas to promote the circulation of the water in rits /natf ural channels;for instance, the colder water always settles to the bottom of theboiler and `should-'Abe drawnv from there and thence distributedrearwardly as far as possible andallowed to return `to the boiler `indirections which will not retard the normal flow of water at the placeswhere the water is discharged, .back yinto the boiler. n

To obtain the maximum benelitfrom the' lire, the boxes should belocatedvliorizontally, yet I find that itis utterly impossible to locatea at water box, of the proper nar- .rowness, within a lirebox, where itsupper wall is in a horizontal position, without hindering the escape ofsteam bubbles. In any arrangement wherein4 the upper wall off a watercirculating box located in the midst ofthe flames and subjected on bothsides to their action, docs hinder the escape of steam bubbles,-crystallization of the` metal walls It will be understood in thisconnection that crystallization is a transforming of the metalin thewalls to a more brittle and weaker condition, due to -overheating. i Itwill be understood in this connection that the formation of steamis sorapid at the surfaces directly exposed to the flame, that unless thereis a direct, upward outletfor the steam over the entire area of thewater box, the particular portion where escape of the steam isrestricted, will not havea suflicient supplyof water to keep kthe metalwalls of the box properly cooled. The result is crystallization andburning out of the box. Fon instance, if a horizontal, flat boxconmiunicates at one side with the leg of a locomotive, and 'mustreceive .its circulation from the leg, it will be impossible for thewater toruSh in fast 'enough to displace the steam which is attemptingto force itself outrand thereby resisting the attempt of the water toenter. Furthermore, steam is being rapidly formed inthe leg itself, andconse quently thenatural upward circulation of water within the leg willoppose` the circulation laterally'into the water box. Y

I therefore construct the. firebox so that the Water box receives `waterat its `lower llll end from theE throat of the b'oiler where thewater'is' coldest, and thenceoffers a free passage both upwardly andlaterally,for the heated water and steam, the greater pere centage ofsteam rising directly, in a vertical passage` to the crown ofthe"b'oi'l`er,ffa-n`d the remainder being offered an escape in alateral, upwardly inrlined direction, filowingf into the leg of theboiler in a direction such lo '-asto stimulate the normal upwardVcircula'- tion of water withinY the le g.

The usual locomotiveboiler is shown in the drawings, including thetopsheet l0, crown sheet 11,'boilerh'ead 12, 'flue sheet l I13,-`f1ues''14, inner throat fsheet '15, outer throat sheet 516, firebox backr'sheet 17, Yand inner and 4outersidesheets "1.8 'andl9respectively,forming the boiler crown 20, legs stimulatingtheAcirculationlof water-nuthin A:My invention? provides the water boxes23Vv l21j andibelly l22.

andV 24,-* the former 'comprising v'upper walls i) 25 and lowerwalls126,fsecn1e'd'to the in'ner vside sheetslSfon either sideofopenings 27 jtherein. The boxes'v compriseinner' walls 25 28 andVouter'walls'29, secured at one end toY fthe 'crown sheet oneither side"of openings 30, E andfat'their otheren'dsftothe walls'f25 of Vthe-boxes23,"on eitherf sideV of openings 31 in theI latter boxes.

'The openings-27 in theinner side 'sheets extend into the'fiue sheet,'and the'boxes 23 y'fare connected to the belly of the boilerV their fullwidth-atV theirj forward ends, thus giving Valmaxin'i'i'mrarea ofw-aterentrance. y later 35 "u'vill'ent'erthe boxes only atvth-eforward ends,

"due, tothe inclination of 'theboxes'23 Out- `Awar'dly and upwardlyz'nbproxim'ately as shown inFig. V2. This inclination causes the heatedwater in the boxestd flow' towardthe 4o f legs 'duringpracticallythe'entire 3'lenf'gith of 'the-boxesQS. In thu's discharging upwardly"di'rected watercurrents into the legsfofthe f boiler; theboxes'23"w`ill accelerate the natural flow of 'wa/terin the legs,wl'ich'is'up- 5 l`ward.

Most of the water entering a boxv 23 rwill enter from the throatsheetopening. How- `"ev`er,"fthere'fis: no definite limit to the size of4the water ei'itrance. 'It will' be understood tothat"`\`\'fherenece'ssary to'balance the intake against the outfiow`water may enter" from the' sides. Due to the fact thatv 'the entirelbody of wateriiowing throughv a box 23lfhas i afge/neralrearwarddirection, the 'dis'eharge vcurrentwill be stronger at therearthan at the forward end and consequently, any Avwater -thus" entering'from the sideswi'll yenter at the frward'end. l'lhusthere"will, atf alltimes, be,- a d'eiinitefdivisionfpo'intinfthe 60 'opening 27, aroundwhich the 'incoming and outiiowing currents will revolve, and" there`will l:be"notendencyfor these Currents to opl 'fi'owfof waterintot'l'ieboxesffrom the sides, the greatest yoiume will betaken'in at theAforward ends, as already stated, and the flow of water -at these endswill therefore be very rapid, very materially stimulating thenaturalfijow of water rearwardly in the belly of the boiler. On theother hand, since the intakeopenings are in no way definitelyconstricted, there will be no possibility of Eaninsuiiicient supply ofwater to the boxes 23'lun'der any circumstances, and consequently, nodanger of burning out or crystallization.

The danger of crystallization is further Yeli'n'iinate'd bythearrangement ofthe water b'oxeseso'that at their inner-sides, where theL#greatest steaming will occur, there is a direct vvupward Aexitl for fthe steam, thus further thebofxes {23,increasing the draftr at theAintake end, and, most important, `making it' iinpossible for steamtoe'ollect'withinthe boxes "2B-at their-inner sides. The escpe'ofsteamfrom the remainder ofthenboxes is assured by the upward inclinationofthe upperwalls 'l 25. It will be noted that at no point can thesteam'be'c'ome trappedF-beneath a horizontal surface. 'In thisconnection, it `may be noted thatthe reg-ion lmost susceptible toburning'would be the rear ends o'fthe'boxes 23, as at 35,*wherethewater can nolonger-"flow rearwardly. However, `the upward inclination of therearendsofr the boxes will enable the steam formed at the ends of theboxes to escape rapidly enough, and-since this escape of steam is not insuch a direction asI toK opv pose the incoming stream vofv water,vmoving rearwardly,v there is little possibility of even these regionsbecoming filled 'with steam.

In conclusion, it 'may be 'stated thatI Crystalli'zation'is-effectivelyopposed by, first, creating a general rearward current of water in thewater boxes 23, second, making the intakel opening unrestricted in area,third, inclining the boxes upwardly to the legs of the boilerto cansethe currents to flow laterally las 'well as rearwardly, and. fourth,providing a direct upward outletf for the steam at the inner sides ofboxes which are `in the hottest Zone of the fire boxes.

The walls of the' boxes 23 and 24 are stay- *boltcd togetheras shown andmay be secured to the usual-walls off'thc fire box in any approvedmanner such as by vwelding and riv-l 'eting TThe boxes 23 form' the'greater majority of thevinclined arch usually constructed of inert Ifirebrick. The' space between the boxes 23 serves a double j purpose. :Inthe first place, by eliminating any connection between the two boxes 23,it prevents" the formation of a neutral Zone in 'which the watercurrentswouldseparate and thereby allow theformation of unescaped steam,` andsecond, it'provides an' opening through" which` the workman may gainaccess tothe flue sheet. This opening is made only wide enough to admitthe body of a workman and, the boxes being l at the sides of the firebox, only one opening 3 is used.

The water boxes 23 serve not only to ref place the usual brick arch, butalso as water forni a central fluespace 38. s Thus the flamev` from thegrate is divided into-three separate channels and should athin spotoccur at any region of the bed of coals and thereby allow excess air topass through the'grate at one spot, the division of theV di'aft to threeseparate channels pulling upon three dierent regions of the grate willtend to eliminate the possibility of the draft being concentrated at theweak spot in the tire bed.

Sonie changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of theparts of my invention without departing from the real spirit and purposeof my invention, and it is my intentionto cover by my claims, anymodified forms of structure or use of Inechanical equivalents, which maybe reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a locomotive boiler having a crown,

belly, and legs, a pair of water boxes connected, at their forward ends,to the belly, and, at their sides,'to the legs, said water boxes beingspaced-apart and inclined rearwardly, upwardly, and laterally away fromthe center of the fire-box, and a pair of vertically disposedlongitudinally extending imperforate water channels connecting thevinner sides of the boxes with the space above the crown.

2. In a locomotive boiler having a crown, belly, and legs, a pair ofwater boxes connected at their forward ends to the belly,

and at their sides to the legs, said forward and side connections beingcontinuous, said water boxes being spaced apart and inclined rearwardly,upwardly, and laterally awa-y from the center of theiire-box, and a pairof vertically disposed longitudinally extending, imperforate waterchannels connecting the inner sides of the boxes with the space abovethe crown.

3. In a locomotive boiler having a crown belly, and legs, a pair ofwater boxes connected at their forward ends to the belly,

said connections extending substantially en? tirely the full width ofthe boxes, and, said boxes being connected at their sides tothe legs,said water boxes being spaced apart and inclined rearwardly,. upwardly,and laterally away from the center of the firebox, and a pairof'vertically disposed longitudinally extending imperforatewat-erchanfnels rconnecting the innersides of theboxcs 'with' the spaceabove `the crown.

l having a crown, belly, and legs, afpair of water boxes connected at`their forward 'ends to the belly,

" l. Ina locomotive boiler and atl their sides to the/legs, said waterboxes being spaced apart and inclined rearwardly,` upwardly andlaterally away fromthe center of the lire box, a pair of verticallydisposed longitudinally extending ,imperia rate 'water channelsconnecting the inner sides ofthe boxes with the spaceabove the crown anda brick' arch supported between the spaced sides of the' boxes.

5. In a locomotive boiler having a crown, belly, and legs, a pair ofwater boxes con nected at their forward ends to the belly, and at theirsides to the legs, said water boxes being spaced apart and inclined rearwardly, upwardly, and laterally away from the center of the fire box, apair of vertically disposed longitudinally extending imperforate waterchannels connecting the inner sides of the boxes with the space aboveYthe crown and a brick` arch supported between the spaced sides-of theboxes, said channels. extending substantially the full length of theboxes, thereby forming three separated draft flues.

'6. In a locomotive boiler having a crown, belly and legs, a pair ofwater boxes, connected at their forward extremities to the belly and attheir sides to the legs, said water boxesbeing spaced apart laterallyand inclined rearwardly, upwardly and laterally away from the center ofthe. lire box, the lowest extremities of said water boxes being at theiradjaceint sides and pair of vertically disposed longitudinally extendingimperforate water channels connecting said lower extremities of Jtheboxes with the space above the crown. Y Y

,7. In a locomotive boiler having a crown, belly, and legs, a pair ofwater boxes connected at their forward ends to the belly, and at theirsides to the legs, said water boxes being spaced apart and inclinedrearwardly, upwardly, and laterally away from. the ceuter ofy the firebox. and a pair of vertically disposed longitudinally extendingimperferate water channels connecting the lower extremities of the boxeswith the space above the crown, the water boxes extending towardeachother beyond said channels to form projecting ledges and a brickarch closing the space between said water boxes supported upon saidledges andy retained against lateral movement by said vertical channels.

8. In a locomotive boiler having a crown, belly, and legs, a pair ofwater boxes connected at their-forwardV ends to the belly, and at theirsides to the legs, said forward andside connections bei-ng continuous,said water boxes being spaced apart and inclined rearwardly, upwardly,and laterally away lUO from the center of the fire box, and a pair ofvertically disposed longitudinally eXtending` iinperforate Waterchannels connecting the innei` sides of the boxes with the'space abovethe crown, the vertical Water channels serving` to support the innerextremities of the Water boxes.

9. in a locomotive boiler having a crown, belly, and legs, a pair ofWater boxes connected at their forward ends to the belly, and at theirsides to the legs, said Water boxes being` spaced apart and inclinedrearwardly, upwardly, and laterally away from y the Vcenter of the tirobox, and a. pair ofvertically disposed longitudinally extendingnnper-forate water channels connect-ing the lower extremities of theboxes Wit-hthe space ,above the crown, the upper walls of the waterboxes frein the vertical water channels to the crown sheet offeringunobstructed in the county of Woodbury and State of Iowa.

MICHAEL M.. CROWLEY.

